Belize (Central America, Round Two)

After Tikal in Guatemala, we headed to Belize for the second week of our vacation. We treated it sort of as our anniversary trip, as we both have wanted to go to Belize because we had heard wonderful things about the country. Being the outdoorsy kind of couple we are, we sort of backpacked across the country. I KNOW, I still don't know how I managed to get all my stuff for two weeks in one bag! Well, I admit, it was a large backpack :)

Here we are crossing the Guatemala/

Belize border

Once in Belize, we stayed in San Ignacio. At dinner the first night, our restaurant listed several of the tours offered. We ended up going through Lonely Planet to join in on a cave tour the next morning. This, too, was unplanned (like so many other things during our trip), but it turned out to be amazing, and one of our favorite excursions.

The Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM, for short) Cave Tour was an all-day, challenging trek that included hiking, swimming, climbing, etc. Our guide took us through the archaeological site to see ceremonial pottery and stoneware, artifacts, and the calcified remains in burial chambers dated back over 2,000 years!

We could not believe we were able to do this...in the states these artifacts would be roped off and in glass cases.

The Stone Princess

After this tour, we took a chicken bus (yep) to Belmopan, the country's capital. From there we hopped on another route south to Caves Branch and stayed at a resort-like lodge. The surrounding views were beautiful!

Above: Brett enjoying the view and a book with a cup of coffee on the patio

Below: Our bungalow!

We also hiked over to the Blue Hole National Park, where we took a dip in the crystal clear water, surrounded by the most beautiful flowers and hundreds of birds.

From there, we headed further south to a small community of Hopkins. We had read about it in our Moon guidebook, and I had heard from several people that it was a lovely and romantic town.

Here is Brett trying his hand out at kayaking. It was fun!

We booked a flight to Belize City and onto Caye Caulker (another popular destination). We flew in a four-seater plane (ahhh!), and I was a little terrified to go (the front-seat passenger was a little boy about 8-years-old, and I thought, "If he can do it, so can I!")

Looking back, it was worth every penny (and the detour) to get the aerial view of the Belizean coast.

So the last stop on our tour of Belize was Caye Caulker, a small little island (caye) with a laid-back agenda. We were ready to stay put and do nothing! And that's exactly what we did...

With access to the Caribbean, we decided we couldn't pass up the chance to go snorkeling. We have wanted to take scuba diving lessons and get certified, but we have not had time. Maybe next year!

On a tour that was arranged, we boarded a sailboat with about 20 other people. We went into the water three times. The first was the Coral Gardens, with beautiful coral reefs stretching to the surface of the water. Also, we were able to see Manatees...although they are HUGE, they seemed to be very docile.

The second drop was at the Shark Ray Alley, where, as the name implies, we saw nurse sharks and stingrays. I was a little timid about hanging out with these sea creatures, so reluctant that I even did a back flip (not on purpose, obviously) into the barracks of the sailboat. I would have to say I may not be so inclined to learn to scuba dive after that experience. I think I’ll stick to just checking out the coral.

Also, we visited the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, where the coral reef was soooo colorful. We even saw a sea turtle on the way back to the boat. Fun experience for sure!

View from our patio in Caye Caulker

A tropical storm was on it's way, so we left at a good time.

Belize City Marina

After all these water and land exercises (for two weeks at that), we were ready to get home…that’s when they say you know you had a great vacation, right?!

Guatemala

(Continued from the previous post on our trip to Central America this summer)

On our day off, we climbed the active Volcano Pacaya, one of three volcanoes within about an hour's drive from Antigua. We arranged the tour with a company, and we rode on a van with about eight other people from all over the world.  On the ascent, we could either hike or local boys had horses for those who wanted a ride. 

It was so HOT (people roasted marshmallows in the lava), and very dangerous (I almost fell through some unsettled, dried lava rocks), that we were surprised tourists are allowed to make the trip.  

But, looking back, it was one of the best parts of our vacation. It was just awesome and so beautiful!

After we finished our week in Antigua with Prestoncrest, we were scheduled to fly up to Flores to visit the Tikal National Park. We had such a long wait for our flight that we decided to check out Guatemala City. We walked around the art museum grounds, but ended up spending most of the day at the Guatemalan Zoo.

It was an unplanned experience (and I insisted on having our itinerary prepared down to the T), but it was very fun and relaxing. Enjoy the pics of the beautiful animals…

 

Above: my favorite pic of the bunch!

Ha, these meerkats definitely entertained us...so cute!

We flew from Guatemala City to Flores and stayed in a small town named Santa Elena. We arranged to be a part of the sunrise tour for Tikal in the morning. We left the hotel at 4:00 a.m. so that we could make it into the park before sunrise, and we were able to climb one of the temples to see the sun rise over the temples throughout the park. Although it was a little foggy, the view was breathtaking. 

The ruins are world-renowned (Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were there right before us). Historians and archaeologists fly in from all over to visit and excavate/restore. This was a truly wonderful and awesome experience!

Below is my shot for National Geographic submission :) 

Temple I

 

Above: Temple V; we climbed stairs to the top of that temple, and all that held us was a rickety staircase...no ropes or ledges. Needless to say, I was a little scared!

Below: Cool, huh?

Tikal is the largest ancient Mayan ruins in the world. It is located in the middle of a jungle, with only about 20% of the ruins uncovered so far. It has been estimated that Tikal was home to the Mayan civilization from 400B.C. to 800 A.D.

That's me at the bottom-right of the stairs :)

Central America in July

In July we embarked with other members from our church for the annual mission trip to Guatemala. I don't think I could write enough about how wonderful of an experience this was for both of us! About 80 of us flew into Guatemala City and worked in the surrounding communities. The days we worked the clinic were long, but very rewarding. I served on the medical team along with about 15 doctors, many nurses, interpreters and assistants. I was the new kid on the block, so I learned as we went along.

All geared up!

Brett was assigned to work in the pharmacy, but he pulled double duty and helped me tremendously! The group saw over 3,000 patients in total, with about 300 to 400 ears being examined and tested.

We stayed in Antigua, a beautiful town with the most wonderful and generous people. The church in Chimaltenango gave us a warm welcome, and the people we worked with definitely left impressions on our lives.

The scenery was breathtaking, and we were lucky enough to stay at a world-famous hotel, Casa Santo Domingo, a restored church and monastery from the 1700's that now also serves as a historical museum, art gallery, and candle factory. The walkways and gardens are beautifully cared for, and you are surrounded by history! We would highly recommend this hotel to everyone, and we hope our family gets to go with us in the years to come.

And we celebrated our second wedding anniversary while we were there, which made the trip even more memorable!